The newly created Department of Creative IT Excellence Engineering has taken a giant step to produce the IT elites of the future.

The POSTECH i-Lab, recently established after being selected for a national undertaking to raise the elite IT human resources, has launched an academic exchange with the MIT Media Lab to  embark on raising the i-lab as one of the world’s top three research-education institutes.

Professor Yoon-Ha Jeong, who is appointed as the first director of POSTECH i-Lab, has recently visited the MIT Media Lab in the U.S. and  made arrangements to cooperate in developing the education system, organizing the curriculum, hiring new staff, and constituting an international advisory committee for POSTECH i-Lab.

Director Joichi Ito agreed to help out by first visiting the i-Lab in Feb. 2011 for its opening as a member of the advisory committee. He also emphasized that “POSTECH i-Lab is a critical start for the beginning of a creative education.” Then he added, “MIT Media Lab will provide its know-how accumulated from years of experience, and form a cooperative alliance.”

With the learning environment beginning to solidify, the admission process for the freshman class of 2012 has begun. Despite the concern in lack of advertisement, 369 applications were accepted for only 20 openings.

The impressive 18:1 admission ratio is more than three times higher than that of the traditionally popular Department of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering. The pool of applicants who passed the first-round application evaluation consists of 55% from regular high schools and 45% from science high schools.

The Department of Creative IT Engineering has attracted the spot light for unprecedented benefits such as 100% scholarship, six-month study-abroad at SUNY(the State University of New York), and free housing. Also, the fact that it offers three different tracks to raise scholars, entrepreneurs, and skilled workforce has appealed to the talented and bright students of Korea.

Director Jeong accentuated that “such high rate in applications articulated that excellent benefits and distinguished education will be more than enough to overcome the crisis of decreased students aspiring to pursue science and technology.”